BJU Press Blog

Shaping Worldview

You homeschool because your child’s faith is important to you. We want to support you in training up your child. These blog posts show how to give your child a biblical worldview of each subject.
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Critical Thinking for Godly Living

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lighting up critical thinking
As home educators, we want our children to be able to think for themselves with the Bible as their foundation of thought. Hopefully, we are teaching our children how to use logic, deduction, and reasoning to solve problems in their schoolwork and in serving their neighbors. If we teach them only how to memorize facts and manufacture answers, we are not sufficiently preparing them for college and life as adults.

Biblical Worldview Thinking

But critical thinking must extend beyond our children’s education to their spiritual lives as well. If we teach our kids only how to memorize Bible facts and recite verses, we are not sufficiently preparing them for their lifelong relationship with the Lord. If we think that attending church and participating in programs will provide our children adequate spiritual training, we’re grievously mistaken. It can be a temptation for parents to drill critical thinking into their children’s schooling while doing very little to encourage it in their Christian walk. They miss crucial opportunities to discuss God’s Word and help their children understand and apply it to their lives. If we’re not careful, we can operate on spiritual autopilot and go through the motions of worshiping God without giving it much thought.

Training Them to Think

So how can we teach our children to think critically about spiritual matters? One way is to ask lots of “how” and “why” questions. For instance, let’s say your child is memorizing John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Ask questions such as, “Who is the Lamb of God? Why is He described as a lamb? How can He take away the sins of the world?” Sunday dinner is a great opportunity to talk about the Scriptures you heard in the sermon. Ask your children what they learned from the message (or the lesson they heard in Sunday school). What was the main point? How could they apply the message to their lives? Was there anything they didn’t understand? Family devotions is another great time to foster children’s ability to think through God’s Word. Take time to discuss and ask thought-provoking questions about the passage you read. Give them time to think it over, and try not to feed them the answers during an awkward silence. They may not get all the answers right, and that’s OK.

They may struggle to put their thoughts into words, and that’s OK too! You’re training them to meditate on God’s Word. Another time to teach critical thinking is when your child sees or hears something that contradicts God’s Word (in the news, on the playground, etc.). Instead of just telling your children, “That’s wrong, we don’t do that,” ask them why it’s wrong and how it dishonors God. See if they can quote a verse that backs up their reasons.

Training Them to Live

If we want to prepare our children for spiritual success, then we must use this crucial developmental phase to teach them critical thinking about His Word.

• • • • •

Jennifer is a pastor’s wife and mom of two young girls and loves being able to homeschool them. During her own twelve years of homeschooling, Jennifer developed a passion for reading and writing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and relishes writing during her free time.

Darkness in Dystopian Fiction and the Hope After

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dystopian fiction today
In the last few years, there has been a trend towards dystopian literature in young adult fiction. Though the trend may eventually die down, the books it has produced are still popular. If your children start asking about reading these books or watching the movie adaptations, what will you say? It’s always better if you read them yourself first. But you may still find yourself uncertain about whether dystopian fiction is appropriate for your children.

Let’s address a few of the basic questions you may have and point out some things to consider when approaching this genre of literature.

What is dystopian fiction?

Dystopian fiction is the opposite of utopian fiction. Instead of living in a perfect world, the characters typically live in a post-apocalyptic world with highly isolated societies. Dominant themes include an overly controlling, and often broken, government and a socialistic structure of society. Series such as The Hunger Games and The Giver are examples of popular dystopian fiction, but the genre is far from new. Though there is some debate, the earliest dystopian novel is either The Time Machine (1895) or When the Sleeper Wakes (1899), both by H. G. Wells. Rebellion against an oppressive government and violence because of that rebellion often characterizes the genre. It also has a tendency to be hopeless and repressively dark.

Why is dystopian fiction popular now?

Of course, a work of literature makes more sense when you understand its author’s background, but it’s also true that what a society chooses to highlight often reveals a great deal about that society. The culture that’s drawn to dystopian literature often identifies with the darkness, fear, death, and hopelessness that dystopian works portray. It’s a society that lacks security and dreads an uncertain future. It sees itself reflected in solitary heroes who try to repair a system that was broken long before they were born. It’s a society that is deeply afraid, with nowhere to turn. Even when their heroes win, it often feels like a broken victory.

The people in this society are your children’s peers and friends.

How can dystopian fiction be valuable?

Just like many other books, dystopian novels offer an opportunity to discuss a biblical worldview of the issues they raise. Naturally, mature children or those whose parents are reading along with them will be better equipped to critique those ideas. The following questions may also help direct your discussion of dystopian fiction: What does the Bible say about obeying the laws of governments? What does it say about obeying laws that are contrary to God’s law? How could the protagonist have handled a bad situation differently? What is a biblical response to a fearful and troubled society?

But perhaps even more importantly, familiarity with these stories opens up pathways of communication for your children with their peers. Yes, we live in a dark and broken world, but its future is by no means uncertain. We have a greater hope in Christ, who has already won a complete victory, and in His hands those who trust in Him are secure for all eternity. Your child might have a wonderful opportunity to share the hope we have in Christ with others who are deeply discouraged.

Praying for Our Children on Day of Prayer

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national day of prayer
As we approach the National Day of Prayer, my mind turns to 1 Timothy 2:1–2, which calls us to make intercessions for all people, for kings, and for all that are in authority. The object of these prayers is for a peaceable life in pursing godliness.

It is vital that we pray for our nation as a people and our leaders in particular. But the future of our nation rests in the hands of our children. Their choices to follow or reject the Lord will determine the direction of our nation.

Psalm 1 provides a gold mine for finding spiritual requests for our children. The psalmist describes the blessedness we desire for our children.  So we can turn those descriptions into petitions.

Avoid Ungodly Counsel

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

All around us, the ungodly are offering counsel to our children. In government schools and in the media, there are voices teaching, modeling, and suggesting ideas that are contrary to God. Some of these ideas are easy to spot, such as the atheists’ denial of God’s very existence. Some are more subtle but just as dangerous.

As parents, we have a tremendous opportunity to curate the influences in our homes. We should take the opportunity to teach our children to be discerning. But we need our Lord’s help. We need His help to see ungodly counsel ourselves. We need help in making it clear to our children. And most importantly, God must work a miracle in our children’s hearts. We’re all naturally bent toward evil. So when a child experiences distaste for ungodly advice, that’s a special work of God.

Father, would You keep my children’s feet away from the way of sinners? Would You give them understanding to see the counsel of ungodly influences? Would You shape their hearts to find these ideas distasteful?

Thank You for giving me an opportunity to shepherd my children through many influences that come into our home. Give me wisdom in keeping the thinking of scoffers out of our living room. Would you help in teaching my children to discern every imagination of man that is in disobedience to God?

Delight in God’s Law

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

A blessed child not only turns away from evil but also has a heart that loves God’s Word. It brings so much joy that the child’s mind keeps turning to it. Of course, all Christians, believing children included, grow in their delight year after year.

In our homes, we can model meditation, teach our children to read their Bibles, and have family devotions. But Psalm 1:2 is speaking to the heart. Our children need the Lord to transform their hearts.

Father, your statues are right and rejoice the heart. Your words are sweeter than the sweetest dessert. Please draw out my children’s hearts toward Your Word. May my child find it so good and holy that that they trust it and value it. Cause it to grip their imagination so that their thoughts return to it again and again.

Prosper in God’s Way

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Children who meditate on God’s Word are like trees that sink their roots deep into reservoirs of water. They grow; they prosper—but not necessarily in material things. They prosper in producing spiritual fruit. When we think God’s thoughts all day long, those thoughts begin to counsel and govern us. They shape the way we view creation, our relationships, and our responsibilities. That counsel is what causes spiritual prospering. Wisdom is learning from God’s creation through the lens of God’s Word so we live well in God’s world.

As parents, we can urge our children to base their decision-making processes on God’s Word. As we explain our own thought processes in making decisions, we model viewing God’s Word as our counselor. When children ask us all of their why questions, we should respond in terms of biblical principles.

Father, Your commands are pure and they enlighten my eyes. They instruct in good paths. Would You cause my children to esteem all Your ways to be right? Would You help them to view Your words as so many counselors that will direct their steps? Would You cause each one to spiritually prosper as a tree, drawing up waters from a nearby river?

As we turn to pray for our nation and its leaders, let’s remember that our children are part of all the people we’re called to pray for. And their spiritual prosperity is integral to the future of our nation.

Multicultural Literature Sparks Kingdom Thinking

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multicultural literature artifacts

Why Should You Teach Multicultural Literature?

We humans can easily get caught up in our own little worlds. This is especially easy to do when life gets busy. However, incorporating multicultural literature into our children’s education is worth the effort because of what it teaches them.

Made in God’s Image

It’s important to teach our children that God made all people in His image (Genesis 1:27). As image-bearers, people from around the world use their gifts to contribute to art and literature, and we can learn from their perspectives.

United in Christ

Additionally, we have brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world! Revelation 7:9 says that “all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb.” Reading multicultural literature provides an opportunity to explain to our children that, even though we may be from different cultures, we still can fellowship with people from around the world and will one day fellowship with them in heaven.

Of course, we can value and learn from multicultural literature even if it is not written by Christians. Knowing that we will share heaven with people from around the world should make us interested in their perspectives.

Bubble Popped, Eyes Opened

Every culture has its strengths and weaknesses that we can learn from. As a junior in high school, I had the opportunity to go on a missions trip to Saint Vincent, an island in the Caribbean. Experiencing the third-world conditions, my little American self felt stretched. But I learned so many valuable lessons from experiencing a different culture.

I experienced the joy of having the connection of Christ with people that I had nothing else in common with. I also learned from the strengths of the island culture. As an American, I was used to structure and time-sensitivity. Yet the island Christians had a good sense of what is ultimately important—people. Timeliness is important, and we should still be conscious of that. But, in the end, people trump time and my agenda. Typically, it’s harder for us to evaluate our own culture since we see it as the norm. But when we contrast it with another culture, it’s easier to separate our cultural traditions from what is actually biblical.

The people there were also thankful for the little things, and was I ever thankful for a bed that didn’t have bugs crawling through it when I got home! In more ways than one, I came back changed: I had a new perspective—a more thankful one. I also had a burden for souls around the world.

Whether you send your child on a missions trip or not, you can still teach them some of these valuable lessons through other people’s literature and art.

How Can You Incorporate Multicultural Literature?

Even if you see the value of incorporating multicultural literature, it may seem like an intimidating goal. BJU Press has taken that stress away by making available excellent resources that can guide your child through diverse literature from a biblical worldview perspective.

I was especially impressed with American Literature. In our American Literature textbook, your child will read excerpts from slaves like Phillis Wheatley and Frederick Douglass to Harlem Renaissance poets including Langston Hughes and Countée Cullen. He will also experience life from Asian American perspectives like Li-Young Lee and Amy Tan and Latino American perspectives like Sandra Cisneros—all in light of a biblical worldview.

The Teacher’s Editions is also extremely valuable in helping you navigate these different cultures. As you embark on this journey of educating your child, BJU Press is committed to supporting you along the way.

Are You Promoting Kingdom Thinking?

As we learn from image-bearers around the world, our perspectives broaden, and we are reminded of what heaven will be like—beautifully diverse and united in Christ.

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Stephanie holds a bachelor’s in English education, and her favorite type of literature is multicultural literature. She is passionate about helping people know and defend their faith and is currently working on a master’s in Christian apologetics. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her husband, crafting, and reading apologetics books, particularly works by C. S. Lewis.

In-Depth Worldview Education

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worldview education globes
Some Christian educators watch with concern as students finish a “Christian worldview education.” They observe that sometimes these students are too quick to label ideas such as feminism and Marxism in order to dismiss them without engaging with understanding.

This can be a real problem. If students fail to understand ideas that they don’t agree with, they won’t be able to communicate thoughtfully about false worldviews. But what can we do to help them think biblically about distorted worldviews?

The problem is not with worldview education but with how worldview is taught. Worldview education must go beyond rote memorization of charts with categories. Instead, students must be taught to analyze from the correct biblical perspective (i.e., through the lens of  Creation, Fall, and Redemption). Only then will they be able to evaluate precisely how false worldviews twist God’s good design.

One way to represent Creation, Fall, Redemption is to illustrate it with the terms structure (God’s creational norms) and direction (bending God’s norms in a fallen direction or bending fallen direction back towards God’s creational design). In other words, children must understand how creational norms and sinful direction work in the formation of wrong ideas.

Creational Norms

We teach our children in order to impart wisdom to them, but where can wisdom be found? It begins when our children fear the Lord by submitting to His wisdom rather than embracing evil (Prov. 9:10). God reveals His wisdom in Scripture, but Scripture also directs us to observe God’s wise design in creation (Ps. 19:1; Prov. 8:22–31).God created His world to work in a certain way—according to His blueprint of wisdom.  So paying attention to how God created the world to work in the beginning reveals principles for living according to His wise design in the present. These principles can be called “creational norms” because they were present at creation.

There are creational norms for marriage (Matt. 19:4–8), economics (Exod. 20:9; 2 Thess. 3:11–12), science (Gen. 8:22), and every other facet of life (Isa. 28:24–29). In some areas, we have direct comment from God’s Word. Others come through careful observation of creation.

Sinful Direction

Of course, each of us is corrupted by the Fall. We inevitably bend God’s creational norms in a way that suits our sinful ways. Some people push against the norms a little and some push a lot. In every case, sinners think of their vision of bent norms as correct and natural. While false worldviews can’t completely ignore creational norms, they bend those norms to fit their vision for individuals and society. The creational norms are still present but in a twisted state.

Redemptive Direction

The challenge for believers is discerning between what part of the sinner’s vision is creational and what part is sinful direction. Christians have an obligation to identify creational norms. Of course, we’re going to engage with many ideas that push these norms in a bad direction. Some of these bad directions have been codified into law and large institutions.

When we encounter these norms, bent in a sinful direction, we should seek to live faithfully in light of redemption by pushing back in a redemptive direction, that is, back toward their creational state.worldview education direction vs. structure

The Case of Marriage

Creational Norm

A discussion of creational norms and sinful direction is difficult to understand without an example. So let’s examine marriage as an illustration of how these principles work out. God created marriage when He made humans male and female. He even gave us a direct word on what marriage should look like in Genesis 2:23–24. This passage outlines the creational norm for marriage.

Fallen Direction

Very quickly after the fall, people started bending marriage in various sinful directions. Polygamy and serial divorce were and continue to be serious examples of bending marriage in a sinful direction.

worldview education bad direction vs. structureRedemptive Direction

When God graciously gave his people the law, He pressed them towards the creational norm. We might have predicted that He would ban divorce, but He didn’t. He regulated it very strictly (Deuteronomy 24:1–5). God put in place legal protections for women being divorced by their husbands.

God still hates divorce; Jesus made that clear. But He understood that the people were evil and were going to divorce, so He established laws that protected a woman when a husband decides to divorce.

Reformation

When the Lord graciously gave Israel laws, He modeled a reformational approach to creational norms that has been twisted by the Fall. In a civil setting, He moved His people towards His creational norms without legally requiring something they would not do. To be clear, God calls us to take radical action against personal sin. But in the civil setting, His laws guided His people like children to make reasonable steps toward the norm.

Reformation requires nuance and understanding of the creational norms and the false worldview. Only then can we discern a corrective step that doesn’t create the chaos that comes with radical measures.

Effective Worldview Education

When we teach our children science, history, math, and literature, we want them to develop skills in finding creational norms. As our children grow, they need to learn to understand and evaluate false worldviews that twist creational norms. Finally, our children need to begin learning to create steps to reform within their context.

This kind of worldview education produces children who do more than dismiss. It enables them to create reformation steps in their generation. To help you equip your children to do just that, BJU Press provides in-depth treatment of these concepts in our Biblical Worldview textbook.